Review of Trigun: Vol. 5

Introduction

Volume 5 of Trigun is upon us, and we begin on that downward slope towards the conclusion, as the story inevitably becomes serious, plot revelations mount, and irrevocable decisions are taken. You can`t get rid of the madcap characters and ridiculous situations that easily though.

Vash the Stampede is perhaps the most infamous outlaw there is, with a $$60 billion bounty on his head. Deadly with a gun, he`s ruthless, fearless and the mere mention of his name can clear towns ahead of his arrival. He`s also a bit of a dork and a committed pacifist. Trigun is set on a distant future world that bakes under the glare of two suns. The human civilisation there has slipped back in technology, and society has taken on the aspect of the Wild West of old. Despite Vash`s reputation, there are plenty of bounty hunters willing to try for that reward. Two hard up insurance agents, Milly Thompson and Meryl Stryfe pursue Vash and try to limit the destruction that he leaves in his wake, and find it hard to believe that the goofy, comical character in the red coat is indeed the toughest gunfighter around. But Vash is a mysterious character beneath that attitude, his past is an enigma and he has abilities and knowledge that are lost to the rest of humanity. This disc from MVM contains 3 further episodes in the Trigun series. At the end of the last volume, the darker side of Vash had been revealed when Legato Bluesummers had unleashed Monev the Gale to wreak havoc and blame it on Vash. Now in Volume 5 he has to pick up the pieces after coming so close to losing control, but there are figures out there that won`t give him the chance.

14. Little Arcadia
After the rather tense events of the last two episodes, it`s a step back towards lighter territory with Little Arcadia. Meryl and Milly are intent on preventing Vash losing his temper. They insist on rescuing him from every potential showdown, and it leads to them being hired as bodyguards instead of Vash, helping an elderly couple protect their verdant piece of land. While their estranged son Badwick is intent on getting them to sell, the villainous Morgan loses patience and hires a giantess and her odd family to tear through the farmstead. Milly and Meryl may have bitten off more than they can chew. Fortunately they have a guardian angel.

15. Demons Eye
Their transportation broken down, Vash is put to use as an unlikely beast of burden for Milly and Meryl. Meanwhile the Roderick gang is terrorising Jeneora Rock. Only Legato Bluesummers is there waiting for his gang of Gung-ho Guns to show up. While the band plays, he decides to have some fun with the resident thugs. When our heroes finally arrive at Jeneora, they find a scene of carnage. The Roderick gang was just a warm-up for Legato though, as he has something special planned for Vash, and soon the humanoid typhoon is facing an opponent who is blindingly fast.

16. Fifth Moon
Vash realises that he has to get serious about tracking down Legato before Legato finds him. He tells Milly and Meryl that this is where they part company, and heads off towards Augusta. Legato has another trap set for Vash however, with two more of his Gung-ho Guns lying in wait. After a couple of weeks of moping, Meryl and Milly decide to follow after Vash, but they may be too late when Legato forces Vash to overreact, literally. But there is another familiar face on the trail of Vash the Stampede.

Video

The picture comes in a nice clear 4:3 regular transfer. The image is sharp and makes use of strong colours. This is an older anime, and the precision of CGI has yet to replace the freer feel of hand drawn animation. I did notice some flicker in the first episode, as well as a few moments of aliasing, but this was an isolated occurrence. I love the design of the anime, Trigun takes place in a fallen civilisation, with vestiges of hi-tech still around, but mostly old and falling apart. There`s plenty of old fashioned technology, and the occasional synthesis of the two giving the story a nice steampunk feel. The animation is strong and fluid, and is generally of high quality. Watch out for the creator`s trademark, a black cat that manages to crop up in every episode.

Audio

You get the basic selection of DD 2.0 Japanese and English, with translated English subtitles to accompany. The dialogue is clear throughout and the music suits the story well. As usual I chose to listen to the Japanese dub, preferring to hear the characters as they were originally voiced. I did spot-check the English track, and while the main character voices were strong and distinctive, the same can`t be said of the guest characters. There were no technical problems in what I heard though.

Features

One trailer for Trigun, one trailer for Paranoia Agent, one trailer for Lunar Legend Tsukihime, one textless opening, one textless closing, animated menus, and jacket picture, all run of the mill accompaniment to your average anime release.

Conclusion

There`s action, excitement, and comedy in the fifth volume of Trigun, in the same vein as the earlier volumes. In addition, there are more hints at the enigma that is Vash the Stampede, and he gets to face his toughest challenge yet in the shape of the Gung-ho Guns, leading to perhaps the most striking revelation of the series so far. Despite all this, I felt oddly disappointed by the latest volume, as it seems to fall into a formulaic feel that seems tired and familiar. Trigun is a little like Ninja Scroll, in that Vash`s opponents are a series of oddball characters with inhuman abilities and increasingly bizarre character designs. It isn`t something that is as apparent on the earlier discs with their greater emphasis on story, but in the three episodes on this disc, story takes a back seat to character design, resulting in some of the more absurd looking nemeses yet.

The first episode is a traditional Western tale of protecting the homestead against the evil money-grubbing landowners. There`s a bit of family crisis and relationship repair to conduct too, as Vash takes a back seat to let Milly and Meryl come to the fore. The villains in this episode are truly wacky. Marilyn Nebraska and friends comprise young Marilyn, who rides on the shoulder of her giantess mother. Tonkichi, Chinpei and Kanta are her projectile shaped siblings, who her mother launches with the grace of an East German shot-putter. Her targets are usually devastated when the human artillery shell impacts. By the time we get to the next episode in Jeneora, we are briefly introduced to the Gung-Ho Guns, although it`s a little too quick to get truly acquainted. Vash ends up facing a cyclopean woman who is insanely fast. It`s an entertaining confrontation between the two, as Vash manages to get a few quips in, but there is a fall off in story in favour of a build up to the showdown. The same goes for the final episode, Fifth Moon. Vash goes after Legato Bluesummers, but there are two more of the Gung-Ho Guns waiting for him. One is your traditional Samurai character, complete with anachronistic sword, but the other is some strange contrivance of armour and piano wire, that looks like nothing less than a human harp. An ultimate confrontation takes up much of the episode, with Vash forced into a display that decimates the city.

All this is certainly fulfilling the mythology requirements, and I`m sure the fight sequences will satisfy, but I felt a little let down at the lack of story. Fortunately the brilliant characterisations of Vash, Milly and Meryl meant that what these episodes lost in terms of story was made up in the delightful character moments that typify Trigun.

If you have come this far with Trigun, naturally this disc will be on your to watch list. Events do take a turn for the serious, although the trademark humour isn`t far behind, but I couldn`t help but feel that this was merely filler, and the real meat of the story is yet to come.